Old Ghosts
by petercapaldiscoiffure
Summary: In which Javik and Kasumi get a little drunk and reach an understanding. Mostly gen with a tiny bit of potential Javik/Kasumi.


Javik looks up from his drink to squint at the flickering figure leaning against the counter.

"Why do you insist on pretending that I cannot see you, primitive? I have already informed you that your inferior technology does not fool me, or have you forgotten already?"

Kasumi edges closer, ignoring his quick scoot backwards. She brings a finger to her lips.

"Shhhhhhhh. I know that _you_ know where I am, Mr. Playful, but we both know that _they_" - she gestures at the wobbling quarian and turian currently draped in an endearing tangle of gently swaying limbs - "do not. And I don't want to miss the show, so hush."

Javik glances from Kasumi to the drunken couple and back, slowly blinking his eyes up at the thief.

"You are aware that I am not also using a cloaking device? The turian and quarian are too engrossed in each other to care about your disturbing need to stare at them."

Kasumi just rests her chin on her hand and sighs. "They are engrossed, aren't they? It's rather romantic - finding a safe port right in the eye of the storm." She lets out a dainty hiccup. "If you'll pardon the mixed metaphor."

Javik chooses to ignore that _she's_ chosen to ignore his questioning of her supposed deception. Her species isn't inclined to sound reason, he muses, and there is probably little point in thinking about it further. He follows the thief's gaze to the pair dancing so closely in the dimmed living room, the colorful signs just outside bathing them in warm light and the tinny sounds of a quarian pop album their only accompaniment. He considers and scowls.

"You call it romance. Their pheromones could choke a clutch of thresher maws. At most it displays a distinct lack of judgement on their parts." Kasumi raises an eyebrow, and he elaborates, "It is a foolish risk for a quarian to attempt copulation with one outside of their own species, given the delicate balance of their biological makeup and symbiotic immune systems."

Kasumi scratches her chin and nods sagely, "Ah, death by…copulation, as you say. Dangerous, for sure - but oh, the rewards. The stuff of epic romance, right there." They watch as Garrus attempts a sort of cheek nuzzle and bonks his head on Tali's helmet instead.

Javik snorts.

Kasumi laughs and plucks his drink from his hand and takes a sip, shrugging one slender shoulder. "Anyway, that's why they have suit mods. Last I checked, Tali'd upgraded hers to the 8000XT model. Pricey, but it has all sorts of nerve stim -"

Javik snatches his drink back, looking vaguely scandalized, and a nonplussed Kasumi tilts her head at him. "What? I wanted to make sure she was getting a good deal. It's what friends are for."

"In my cycle, spying on others was -"

"Yes, punishable by death by, what, burying the hapless offender up to his head in the desert and waiting for the sand beetles to eat him?"

"…yes."

Kasumi has to laugh at that. "Well, as long as there are no rats involved. I hate rats."

Javik lets out a sound that might be a chuckle or a scoff, but they're both too drunk for Kasumi to be entirely sure. She looks back at her unwitting entertainment. Garrus seems to have gotten the hang of things, and they've moved to the couch. Tali is giggling and stroking his mandibles. Kasumi sighs again, and glances at Javik. She watches as he takes a long pull from his drink and pretends that he isn't watching the lovebirds too. She decides he's rather funny, in his way. Whether he means to be or not. There are certainly worse people to talk to.

"So, Javik." She leans in. "Tell me more about these _pheromones_."

Javik pauses mid-drink and raises his brow at her.

"What of them? There is little to tell. They are a biological marker of a person's or animal's emotional and physical status. A pity your species is so underdeveloped as to lack the sense for them, but," he sneers and shrugs, "not unexpected." He looks upward and shuts his four eyes - Kasumi wonders if hamming it up is a biological marker of the Prothean race - "It never fails to amaze me that the most dominant races in your time are still so - "

Kasumi cuts in and they sigh in dramatic unison

"- _primitive_."

Javik snaps his eyes open to find Kasumi looking at him sidelong with something between a smile and a smirk, twirling a tiny umbrella she - his eyes flicker down - apparently filched from his glass. He is surprised to find it to not be an entirely unpleasant sight. He also finds that the primitives do seem to have a knack for excellent alcohol.

He nods in the direction of the resident canoodling dextros and her eyes follow, while his own rest on the gentle twirling of the thief's umbrella and her slim fingers.

"When a creature is feeling fear, or pain, or -" and here he pauses, flicking his eyes up to Kasumi's turned face "arousal, their pheromones will reflect it. It is akin to what you might call a scent."

Kasumi scrunches her nose and grimaces. "So…you can smell them right now? I can't say I'm sad we didn't evolve with that ability."

Javik huffs. "It is not smelling, not as you would know it. But, yes, it can be…overwhelming, at times. My people were more subtle. The other races were not. And still aren't, unfortunately." Kasumi pauses and turns, frowning at him from under her hood.

"Wait, does that mean you can smell me? Or whatever it is you do? Because I'll have you know I shower with great frequency. _And_ a loofah."

Javik mirrors her expression. "What is a loo - no, do not answer. No, I cannot detect your own scent. They," he gestured outwards, "are not the only ones to be caught up in this ridiculous expression of supposed affection. The air is clouded by your fellow primitives. You are merely indistinguishable. And your _loofah_ has nothing to do with it."

Kasumi blinks. "Well that's…good. I guess."

Javik shrugs, grabbing a cracker and turning back to his drink. Kasumi plops down on the stool next to him and turns away to scan the premises, finding that the alien is right - aside from Garrus and Tali still snuggled down on the couch, everyone else appears to have either passed out or found a room. Samara and Zaeed seemed to be getting along earlier, and there's no need to guess where Shep and the delicious Spectre Alenko have disappeared to. She doesn't dwell on where darling James and the beautiful Commander Williams have squirreled away, tamping down the slight squeeze of disappointment. She brightens her face and turns back to her conversation partner.

"Say, where'd our lovely and mysterious blue friend run off to? I thought you two were joined at the hip."

Javik snorts and pulls a face. "The scientist cannot handle her liquor. I told her there was a reason it was outlawed in my cycle but she and the quarian told me to 'lighten up'. She then 'lightened up' enough to become unconscious. Typical asari."

Kasumi furrows her brow at him and starts to search the room with her eyes, checking for prone blue bodies under pianos and the like. "You didn't just leave her on the floor somewhere, did you? That's a tad rude, you know. Not to mention a surefire way for her to get a crick in her back. If you want to deal with a pissed off Shadow Broker, you sure know how to achieve your goals."

Javik sighs and rolls his four eyes at Kasumi. "She is in one of the back rooms. There is a blanket. She will be fine. The only thing that will be sore in the morning is her pride when she discovers she was sending inebriated messages of questionable content to a very confused lizardman."

Kasumi lets out a delighted titter at that revelation, then stills, quiet for a moment. She nudges the Prothean. "I can tell you don't hate her as much as you pretend, you know. I mean, a blanket. I imagine that's practically a declaration of love, coming from you." When Javik gapes at her in horror she bites back a laugh and quickly amends, "Or of congenial disinterest. Whatever you want to call it." Javik harrumphs and snaps his mouth shut.

Kasumi brings a hand up to hide her grin; she would swear that for a moment Javik almost looks as though he's pouting, when he interrupts her thoughts to grumble, "I am surprised the Commander would allow one such as yourself free access to her home. I do not find the items in this place to be appealing, but I would imagine they would hold some value to a _thief_."

Yes, Kasumi decides as she mulls over his accusatory tone. He is definitely pouting.

"Well, you certainly know how to keep the conversation rolling, don't you?" She reaches out and nicks one of his crackers and smiles impishly at him. He just scowls again, and she sighs. "Shep knows I wouldn't take anything I wouldn't bring back. Or replace with something better. And I wouldn't steal something from her anyway. Not permanently, at least. She's my friend." She quirks her lips. "And she owns a lot of guns."

He almost smiles at that, and nods. "You are not so foolish as you look, then."

Kasumi can't decide whether to be offended or not but she can't help it - she laughs, leaning towards him, amused in spite of herself by this bizarrely forthright man. Maybe it's because she so often deals in shadows and secrets or maybe it's just that she's a little bit drunk, but she's surprised to find she almost likes him.

Javik tenses at the brush of Kasumi's arm against his own, but as he watches her quiet and settle back into her seat, he finds himself…intrigued, with this oddly whimsical creature. And before he fully realizes what he's doing, he leans forward and declares, "Human, I would like to read you. Give me your hand."

At that Kasumi lets out a soft "ha!" and eyes him up and down. "You know, Mr. Playful, I think we should be past the stage of you referring to me by my species if you intend to start getting all touchy-feely."

"Says the woman who insists on calling me by some sort of title, no doubt steeped in the dim-witted humor your kind find so…" he pauses, searching for whatever word appears to be eluding him.

"Humorous?"

He looks distinctly unamused. "Hmph."

She rolls her eyes at him and twists her body to watch Tali and Garrus for a few moments, while Javik ponders whether or not to touch her hand when she next steals another of his crackers. Just as he decides against it (too many layers, he would never get an accurate reading, he's certain), she turns back to him.

"Javik."

"... Kasumi."

"It seems a bad trade, you know - I give you my hand and you learn all my deepest secrets, and I - what - discover whether your hand has scales?"

"Let me relieve you of your curiosity - my hand does not have scales. Now give me yours."

Kasumi considers and finally heaves a dramatic sigh. "Oh, fine, why not? But you better be able to tell me if I'm going to have good luck this year at least."

"I - what?"

Kasumi just shakes her head and wiggles her brows at him as she removes one of her gloves and rests her hand atop Javik's. She feels - nothing, much to her surprise and mild relief.

But then Javik's lids flutter to half-mast, and she stills when she feels his fingers entwining with hers seemingly of their own volition. She resists the slight urge to yank her hand away to safety. As she listens to the hum of the refrigerator she finds her eyes tracing the lines and dips that pattern his skin when, after a long moment, Javik seems to come back to himself. His hooded eyes rest on hers, and Kasumi thinks that she sees something in the golden orbs, maybe…sympathy? No, not quite, but something near it. Her stomach clenches and suddenly this whole thing seems much less amusing than it had a few seconds ago.

"There was a male. Your mate. He died - no, was killed."

Kasumi coughs, suddenly awkward and desperately wishing she were passed out in the back with Liara.

"I - you know, this has been a bundle of fun but I think that's enou -"

But Javik continues as if she hasn't even spoken. "You had a kind of echo shard, a collection of all your time together. But it was different - you could relive the memories, re-enact them. Yet you let Shepard destroy it. You _told_ Shepard to destroy it." He's peering down at her now.

"Why?"

Kasumi opens her mouth then closes it. Instead of answering she turns her head and watches the street lights dance over the fireplace, mingling with the glow of the flames. Neela Vas Toriyya warbles from the stereo in the background and the sounds of Tali's gentle snores and Garrus's little chirps float across the room. They almost distract her from the sudden whirring in her ears. She feels Javik's gaze on her, and she's startled to hear her own unsteady breath - she's usually a master of silence. She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out, and her shoulders slump.

But then Javik's baritone washes over her, softer than before.

"I too had an echo shard. It was not the same as yours - it merely transferred memories. It was comprised of all the experiences of the ones who had held it before me - all that was left of the empire, in its glory and its downfall. I was meant to receive them, to help rebuild civilization." A humorless snort at that.

Light and shadow flit across her face and Kasumi hears herself ask, "And did you look? I mean - knowing that there was nothing left to rebuild. Still, to see your people, your friends again…" She trails off.

A long pause, then - "No."

Kasumi glances back at Javik. The blues of his skin shine in the dim light. She sniffs, attempts a smile. "Why?"

He raises a brow ridge in acknowledgment of the checkmate, yet to Kasumi's surprise he answers. "The Commander told of a saying you humans have: let old ghosts rest. It seemed wasteful to disregard one of the few bits of wisdom to be found in this cycle."

Javik keeps his gaze steady on her as she reacts, and he notes the brightness of her dark eyes and the surprised curve of her lips. He wonders if that marking is a tattoo, or some form of painting. He feels a tentative squeezing of his hand and realizes their fingers are still entwined, looking down at the web of blues and pale golds forming a disjointed pattern he can't seem to take his eyes off of. He idly notes that he should be removing himself from this absurd situation; the Avatar of Vengeance holding hands with a primitive like a child is too undignified to be borne. And yet.

Kasumi's quiet voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Shep and I - we had a similar conversation, I think." She shakes her head as if to clear it, and some of her old smirk reappears. "She's a smart cookie. Moderately unhinged and occasionally terrifying. But smart."

"…I cannot disagree with you."

They sit like that for a few moments more. It's Kasumi that breaks the contact first, taking her glove and folding her hands on the counter almost primly. Javik starts and quickly grabs for his glass, eager to clear the air of any lingering…whatever that was. Kasumi takes in the sleeping figures on the couch and the hush that's fallen over the apartment, the peculiar almost-silence of bustling streets in the early morning hours filling the air. She bumps Javik's shoulder with hers, ignoring his affronted "Hmf."

"Looks like we missed the show after all." She nods in the direction of the living room.

Javik curls his lip and inclines his head towards her. "Speak for yourself. There was nothing to miss. The quarian did not even take off her mask. A surprising show of good sense but exceedingly boring." He allows a smug smile to pass across his face at Kasumi's look of baffled surprise and taps his head. "We are not all limited to a mere two eyes."

She can only let out a bemused laugh at that, and a yawn follows shortly thereafter. A languid stretch and sidelong glance at the gruff alien to her left later, she stands. Javik looks up and gives a slight nod.

"Yes, it is late. And we have spent too long talking of wasteful things."

"Oh, I don't know. I almost enjoyed myself, I have to say. Though maybe in the future you might refrain from bringing up dead friends and lovers. Stick to party jokes about the primitives, you know?"

Javik laughs then, a full throated thing that Kasumi would never have guessed he was capable of. She has the strangest urge to reach out and stroke his cheek, but she stays her hand. That's a path she doesn't think either of them need her to walk down. Instead she turns on her heel and starts down the hall to Liara's room, calling over her shoulder, "Goodnight, Javik. Sleep tight and don't let the sand beetles bite."

Javik turns to watch her disappear into the shadows, downing the remains of his forgotten drink.

"Goodnight, Kasumi."


End file.
